All Aboard!
by FatKitty
Summary: Franky was just a normal cyborg until he was forced into piracy by a bunch of bumbling idiots. He was pulled into a crew he had never wanted to join. But that Robin...hmm. Perhaps there are some advantages to this adventure after all. Canon. Franky x Robin.
1. Chapter 1 : Enies Lobby

A/N: To those who have already read my first chapter, I decided to redo this chapter as my original did not seem to have any particular meaning in it.

The setting in this new chapter was the same as the original which is, for those of you who is reading this story for the first time, on the sea train after Robin had been captured by the CP9 and after Sanji, Usopp - or should I say Sogeking - and Franky, failed to rescue her.

So here it is and I do hope it is better than the last chapter.

Please enjoy!

* * *

Robin sighed in defeat as she stepped out of the mystical world through the gateway suspended in mid-air, alone. Completely and utterly alone.

A large man dressed in black followed not far behind her and as soon as his feet touched the floor of the sea train, the entrance leading to the parallel universe vanished, leaving no mark behind. Taking a quick glimpse of her surroundings, she found herself back inside the train her friends had desperately tried to take her away from. In the corner of her eye, she spotted the mysterious cyborg who had tried to help her crewmates – ex-crewmates – rescue her from her fate with apparently a 'back plan' which had obviously failed. Franky was his name, if Robin recalled correctly.

Though cuffed – Robin secretly wondered how the CP9 managed to fit his huge arms into those tiny cuffs – he was resting his back leisurely against the wall of the sea train as though he were not currently being shipped off towards his death. He was clad in an exotic, purple T-shirt which was unbuttoned, baring his chest and stomach to the world. It was plainly decorated with all different kinds of tropical palm trees in all sizes, large and small. On his thin legs or more accurately, only the top of his legs, was a pair of dark blue underwear. Two distinct, azure stars were also tattooed onto his forearms.

Brash, foolish and indecent were the first words which popped into her head, but before she could conduct any further observations, her wrists were caged in handcuffs and she was then raucously yanked away, towards next carriage. With her crewmates – no, ex-crewmates – left behind, Robin, through a remarkable display of self-control, made her way towards the door of the next carriage. Her head was held high, and she betrayed none of the torment and fear she felt over her nakama's – no, ex-nakama's – safety. Feeling the heavy stares of the CP9 boring into her back, she walked through the door exiting the first carriage, and entered the second.

Behind her, Robin could still hear the anguished shouts of her beloved nakama – no, ex-nakama – ringing loud into the night. Even though the thunderous chugging of the sea train and the deafening roar of the vicious waves of Aqua Laguna where so thunderous that she could almost feel her ears bleeding. The faint voices of her friends calling out to her was all that her mind could register and though she had already resigned herself to death, she clung onto the fading cries and etched them clearly into her mind. This would certainly be the last time she would ever hear their precious voices.

Over the course of a few mere weeks, the Strawhat's crew members had well and truly managed to work their way through, iron walls, metres thick, and into Robin's heart. Though cautious and wary at first, Robin had likewise learnt to let her friends into her heart, something which she had not done for decades.

They were the first to view her as more than a tool to use at their disposal, building an unbreakable friendship with the enigmatic, young lady. They held an irreplaceable position in Robin's heart and were as close as the family and the fellow archaeologists she once had in Ohara. And it was because of this powerful bond that Robin made the difficult choice of saving the Strawhats from the formidable 'Buster Call' at the expense of allowing herself to be captured by the world government.

"The Strawhats, excluding myself, will be left unharmed until they leave Water 7." Robin said calmly, "And in exchange, I will hand myself over to the World Government."

Spandam paused, considering the offer for a few seconds before deciding.

"It's a deal," he sneered in reply, "it was about time you were captured, you conniving bitch,"

Robin did not let the last comment deter her, though the prospect of leaving behind her nakama did not sit well with the woman. They would be safe, she told herself over and over again, and that was all that mattered to her.

Emitting a soft clicking sound, Bleuno opened the carriage door and pushed her inside and as soon as he left, Robin returned to the seat she was in before her crewmates - no, ex-crewmates – had come to rescue her. Next to her lay the food tray that Wanze the cook had provided her with. The food had been left untouched as Robin, though hungry at the time had not been in the mood to eat. Needless to say, she was feeling the same now.

Becoming more and more exhausted as the adrenaline rush in her body wore off, Robin rested her back against the cushion of the sofa. Her dark eyes followed the repetitive splash of the tidal waves smashing against the side of the train.

With her thoughts having no choice but to remember the previous events of the day, a stray tear slid down Robin's fair cheeks.

Out in the distance, a scaly sea monster with stripy blue skin and a funny flat face suddenly leaped out of the water.

A flat face…like the ones of the gigantic pythons they saw in Skypiea. The flat and joyful face of the python as it danced around the camp fire with her ex-nakama, singing and laughing as best as a python could with her frolicking ex-nakama. They would have been dancing around to terrible music which they made themselves, all the while with a merry expression on their faces.

Zoro and Nami would be having drinking contests with other skypieans and shandians. Luffy would the first to dig into the food, picking all the meat out for himself. Chopper and Usopp would have been their normal idiotic selves, dancing on table tops with chopsticks in their noses.

And she…she would have been with them. With them when they were rejoicing. With them when they were down. With them through all the good and the bad times they experienced and always, she would have a smile on her face. It was not one of those smiles she wore when she was begging for food. Not one of those smiles where she was trying to charm the socks off an old lady into giving her a job. But a real, genuine smile, one full of happiness and love.

Now, she needed to leave all those memories behind and be strong…for them.

Suddenly, the door behind her clicked open letting in a gale of cold wind before it click shut again. Heavy footsteps sounded, each louder than the one before.

Is it a CP9, Robin wondered as she heard the heavy footsteps approaching her from behind. Hastily blinking back her tears, she straightened her back and her expression resumed its original stony look.

Much to her surprise, it was not a disconsolate CP9 who approached her but Franky whom she saw earlier.

Franky gave her a contemplative stare, which Robin returned, before settling down on the sofa opposite her, putting only a coffee table's distance between the two. Mimicking Robin's posture, he relaxed into the sofa exhaling a loud sigh. After fidgeting around slightly, attempting to get his body into a comfortable position, he opened his mouth as though he were about to say something but suddenly stopped.

Noticing the glistening, wet trail marks running down the sides of Robin's cheeks, his body promptly stiffened. Suddenly unsure of what to say, Franky's pair of beady eyes darted around uncomfortably, trying not to look at Robin's tear marks for too long, before they finally settled on the unpleasant view of the treacherous waves outside the train.

An awkward silence came over them. Each was desperately waiting for the other party to say something and break the awkward atmosphere but each was just as reluctant to say something themselves. The tension in the air slowly began to grow as the only sound that was heard was the soft crash of the waves against the train carriage and the gentle breathing of its two occupants. If one should walk in on them, he or she might just suffocate under all the dense pressure of the tension in the carriage.

Finally, as Franky could take the awkwardness no longer, he spoke, shattering the almost tangible tension veiling the air with the bluntest remark in history.

"Can I have some?" his face was stoic, nodding his head towards the sandwiches lying on the food tray beside Robin.

Robin, afraid that her voice would tremble if she spoke, merely stared at him remaining silent.

Interpreting Robin's look as a 'yes' he then continued, "Um, I'll just take one then," with his voice drifting off towards the end.

Immediately after Franky finished his statement, a minuscule hatch opened up on the right side of his chest. A thin, mechanical 'arm' which was neatly folded behind the hatch shot out towards the food tray, startling Robin in the process. During the twenty or so years Robin had been alone, she had seen more than enough of her share of oddities but this was by far one of the most bizarre events she has ever witnessed.

The tiny, three-fingered 'hand' at the end of the 'arm', expertly took hold of a sandwich then pulled back, bringing the sandwich in front of its master's mouth. Grinning, Franky began wolfing down the food like a starved man. If only CP9s could vanish that easily, Robin mused as she watched the sandwiches in the tray rapidly disappear one by one.

As he ate, Robin saw crumbs and shreds of lettuce leaves falling all over the coffee table and some even on his lap. Butter and mayonnaise slowly began to plaster onto his face as he gobbled up the sandwiches one after another at an unbelievable pace. Watching him, Robin was reminded of a little baby who has just eaten watermelon straight from its skin – juice all over his face and clothes with drool dribbling from his mouth.

But despite that, Robin actually thought he looked kind of…cute, not that she ever would let anybody know.

"Why did you try and rescue me?" Robin suddenly asked as she watched Franky devour his sandwiches, "I believe that you already know where the train is headed."

Unexpectedly, Franky's beady eyes started to leak tears, "It was so heartbreaking watching your crewmates risking their lives for a fellow nakama. They were even willing to die in order to rescue you and being the compassionate being that I am, I can't just sit by and watch them go to their deaths for you," Sniffling slightly, he continued, "They touched me…right here, in my heart."

What a foolish man, Robin secretly thought to herself, not that her narrow-minded nakama are any different from him.

With another heavy sigh, Robin's chocolate brown eyes darted back to the sea, eyeing the repetitive splash of the deep blue waves, all the while knowing that she would never have the chance to see them ever again.

Splash…splash…splash…

They sounded like the singing of an angel in her ears. It was so melodious and harmonic, so…earthly and natural.

How could she have never noticed how lucky she was to be able to live? Now that she knew she was going to die, the world suddenly seemed so much more precious than before. It was as though karma was coming back around and biting her in the ass. It let her live through the buster call which destroyed her entire island. It saved her from any 'kind and caring' barn owners and criminal organisations who wanted to sell her out to the world government. And just when she found the nakama she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, it comes back around kicking her ass and sending her off to her death.

For as long as she could remember, she had always been told that her existence was a sin, something which must be eradicated never to be seen again.

A loud yawn suddenly came from Franky's direction. With all his sandwiches finished, he grabbed a napkin using his mechanical arm and wiped all the sauce off his face. Now happy with the way he looked, he arranged his body on the sofa so that he was lying down as comfortably as he possibly could with his huge arms cuffed together.

His head was tilted up, resting comfortably against the arm rest of the sofa closest to the aisle along the centre of the train carriage. After fidgeting for a long time, he finally found a comfortable position in keeping his cuffed arms behind his back, his body angling slightly towards Robin.

Seconds later, Franky's eyes closed as his breathes calmed into a slow rhythm, signalling that he was asleep.

Robin shot him a sceptical look.

How could he possibly be so relaxed when every second they spent on the damn train, meant one second less to live? She for one, wanted to spend her last moments wide awake, thoroughly enjoying every last thing, down to the last speck of dust before it is all taken away from her. The air, the sea, the sofa, the slow rocking of the train and even the handcuffs all seemed like a gem, like a miracle to her.

Even though her nakama had already given her so much, from the warmth of family and friends she had wished for ever since she could remember, to the ice cream she had always envied other children of having, the world still had so much left to offer her, so much left that she wanted to see before her death. Everything, ranging from extremely mediocre dreams, such as playing around like a child in a park, to significant ones, such as fulfilling her life-long dream of unravelling the mystery of the void century, she wanted to experience them all before the end of her life.

She still has yet to experience even the most normal of things. Things like looking after and caring for pets, like walking down a street without constantly looking behind her back for danger. Hell, she has never even had her first kiss yet!

One may think that such a charismatic – not to mention sexy as hell – young lady such as Robin would have already slept with several men during her thirty years or so but she actually, had not. Sure she had many fine suitors in her lifetime, in fact she had too many for her liking, but all that it did to her was give her plenty of experience in warding off even the most persistent courtiers.

Robin had always thought of having boyfriends to be a waste of her time and energy, especially in her line of work where you could lose your life if you were the tiniest bit careless. Until she had met the Strawhats, Robin had always thought of relationships as an unnecessary weakness, particularly ones of such a close and intimate nature. Lovers are there for you to depend on and trust in to protect you but for a strong and independent woman like Robin they are unnecessary setbacks. Most of her suitors only wanted to see her in bed anyway.

Hence, till this day, Robin still has not kissed a single man yet…although she was not quite sure she wanted to either.

Growing bored of watching the waves crashing against the side of the train time and time again, her eyes drifted back towards the inside of the train. Completely involuntarily, her eyes landed upon the sleeping figure of Franky. Against her will, her eyes began tracing the contours of his bare chest, noting with a strange fascination, the two, almost invisible lines running down either side of his torso. Any normal person would have missed those lines but Robin being Robin spotted them straight away.

The two, thin lines extended the entire length of his body, running from either end of his waist, up to his shoulders then disappearing behind the collar of his shirt.

At a glance, the two lines running down the sides of his body looked like scars similar to the kind left behind from a deep cut. But then again, they were much too straight and evenly placed to be a scar of any kind. Perhaps a little more like incisions made by the knife of a surgeon, very even and precise and very strategically placed.

As her eyes roamed further, she spotted another set of lines similar to the ones she saw before but these were even fainter and were almost seamless. They took on the shape of a large square in the centre of his abdomen, marking out the place where he kept his 'fuel'.

Then it occurred to her. He was a cyborg. Those lines must have been when he opened his body to place his deadly weapons and contraptions inside.

How mysterious…

I wonder what other kinds of secrets are inside his body, Robin mused. Feeling her more curious side taking over, Robin itched to investigate the numerous deadly weapons and contraptions he would have no doubt imbedded within himself.

How fascinating, to be able to hide weapons inside your body to control and bend all of that lethal power to your will.

Robin's eyes then drifted towards his face coming to a stop on his nose.

Would he be able to feel it if someone touched his nose? Was he able to breathe through it? Is the rest of his face also made from metal? And how does he turn his body into a machine anyway let alone his head?

Considering the fact that his chin was also made from metal as it took on an odd shape, Robin assumed that the rest of his face was also made from metal. Does that mean his eyes were also artificial? How do you even make such a sophisticated organ artificially?

Her eyes then wandered further south, coming to a rest on his lips. Are they also made from metal? Would he be able to feel it if someone were to…

Robin came to a stop there, not willing to think any further. Her eyes flickered up towards the ceiling awkwardly as she tried to will her mind to think about something else. Unfortunately for her, her mind was not cooperating.

What if she were the one who…I mean it is not like she has ever done it before and everyone knows that it is good thing to try something new every day. Maybe she could…

Robin stopped her train of thought right there. She did not just think about kissing Franky. There was no way she just had those kinds of thoughts.

Her eyes flickered wildly about the carriage trying to find something else to keep her mind occupied. Regrettably, Franky was the only thing on the carriage which was not something as boring as a sofa, a food tray or a wall so after her eyes took a wild journey through every nook and cranny of the train, it came right back where it started, Franky.

Maybe just a little peck. She was going to die anyway, why not make the most of what little time she had left? Franky was asleep, meaning that he would not remember anything that had happened and there was no one else who would see them. There was nothing she could lose from a small kiss and the worst that could happen was to have Franky wake up while she was at it – or be walked in on by a CP9 – but her time was almost up. What does it matter what others thought of her now?

Just like that, Robin's resolve crumbled. Deciding that she would berate herself later for having such a weak resolve, she slowly rose from her chair, hearing her stiff joints protesting from having been in the same position for so long. Her curiosity in the situation was undeniable as she took slow steps around the coffee table in between her and Franky. But she could not help wondering. What was she supposed to do? What does it feel like?

Suddenly, a large, Aqua Laguna wave suddenly slammed into the train, throwing Robin onto the coffee table beside her. The food tray that was laying on the seat she had been sitting on a few moments ago, flew up into the air and hit the wall with a loud bang! Exhaling only a soft huff to signal her pain, Robin's brown eyes then flickered towards Franky to see whether the jolting or the sound had woke him up. His breathing was still deep and even implying that he was still sound asleep.

With a loud screech, the train lurched back onto the tracks helping Robin get back onto her feet. Ignoring the pain in her side, she slowly began walking towards Franky again.

Because of the sudden lurch, Franky's body turned slightly sideways and his head twisted so that his cheek was resting on the arm of the sofa.

Feeling her arms trembling slightly from a combination of uncertainty and nervousness, her legs and feet walked her to beside the sofa Franky was sleeping on. Tentatively, she knelt down so that her face was level with his.

From such a close distance, Robin could hear the soft and relaxed breathing coming from him as he slept away. She could make out the small contours on his face and all the minuscule details such as the thin scar running along his hairline. From here, she could count the tiny screws in his nose and make out each individual hair on his face.

With her heart beating faster than she would ever admit to, she closed her eyes then little by little, she brought her face closer and closer to Franky's until finally, her lips barely brushed against his.

Slowly, she opened her eyes then pulled her head back.

Well that was anti-climactic. Wasn't she supposed to feel something now? Wasn't her heart supposed to be beating quickly in her throat or like that saying – which she personally thinks is extremely over-used – have butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

Honestly, she felt no different from before. It was not like the kisses she had read about in books, not like the kisses her friends had recounted to her when she was a teenager.

Nothing big happened. Nothing felt different. Nothing seemed to change. Well, the one thing that had changed was that Robin now knows that Franky's lips were also metal plated seeing as they hardly yielded when their lips brushed together.

Another thing that changed was that Robin had tried something new today, the day that she was fated to die and because of that, she was proud of herself.

Standing up once again, she flicked her hair backed over her shoulders than left Franky's side to sit back on the couch on the opposite side of the coffee table, completely oblivious to the fact that Franky had been awake throughout the whole ordeal, having been jolted awake by the massive wave which had crashed onto the train. Robin settled back down onto the couch than stared back into the endless horizon of treacherous waves, leaving behind a very confused Franky.

* * *

As morning came round again, Robin knew that her time was almost up. Franky was asleep as a soft snoring was sounding throughout the carriage. The Aqua Laguna had died down, turning into small, gentle waves. There were seagulls calling in the sky, indicating that the train was now close to their destination and sure enough, Enies Lobby was now within view. Even though it was still only a tiny dot in the horizon, Robin felt her already sore muscles tensing and her breathing becoming slightly irregular.

Robin spent the last hour of the trip in silence, directing her thoughts to the memories of the times she spent with her nakama.

As the train pulled up against the platform, coming to a smooth stop, the carriage doors opened to clearly reveal Enies Lobby. This is it, Robin thought to herself, this is where I die.

Glad that she was able to experience something she has never done before, she made her way outside the carriage and met with the looming tower of Enies Lobby.

* * *

A/N: Woot! So how was it?

I tried to make it more interesting and more engaging than my original chapter 1 and I hope I was successful.

Anyway. From this, I realized what a big mistake I just made and I now know exactly how important planning out a story is. After this, I'm definitely planning out the rest of my story before I start writing anything else.

I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a quick review before you go! Thx!


	2. Chapter 2 : Home Again

Chapter 2

This chapter takes place after Enies-lobby events. I'm sure everyone knows what happened during the Enies lobby arc. Robin gets kidnapped, Luffy and the others come along on the prototype sea train, they declare war on the world government, they kick their asses, Merry comes along and saves them etc.

So enjoy!

* * *

Later that day…

For as long as she could remember, Robin had always found peace while buried nose deep within a history book. The mysteries of the ancient world never ceased to fascinate her, especially when it came to ancient Hana. There was this one memorable time, when she was still the little girl of Ohara when she had stayed up for an entire three days and nights reading the better half of an encyclopaedia on this captivating island. By the end of the third day, she had fallen asleep from exhaustion on her aunt's dining table during an 'extremely important' dinner with the mayor. The beating she had taken on that day still made her shiver whenever she thought of it. But it was not her fault that Hana was just so interesting.

Today, she had been enjoying yet another book on the history of Hana ... until Franky came along that is and drunkenly spilt his glass of alcohol on to her book. Robin's glare on him turned even deadlier, if that was even possible at this point, as she, again, feebly tried to dry the alcohol from the pages of her beloved book. Hopefully the smell would not stay, though judging from the situation, Robin would be extremely lucky if she wanted her wish to come true. She doubted she was.

After the commotion at Enies Lobby, the Strawhats all came back to Water 7 - with Robin of course – and celebrated by having an enormous feast in the upgraded Franky House. The moment the Strawhats and the Franky family had stepped into the house, they immediately began digging into the numerous amounts of food laid out in trays on the wooden tables lining the wall.

Colourful streamers adorned the metal walls of the house, along with an extensive collection of balloons. In the centre of the room lay a dance floor positioned directly beneath a silver, disco ball hanging from the roof. On it, were several coloured lights which were projected by the many torches hung on a steel structure on the ceiling. At the front of the room was an elevated stage which faced an assemblage of tables and chairs living at the back of the room.

Lying in various places around the room were also several interesting contraptions, which were no doubt, made by the Franky family themselves. Music began to boom from the speakers on either side of the stage as the festivity began.

Robin though, not being one for parties, just chose an empty table in the corner to sit down beside, one that was farthest away from the noise where the music was just a dim hum in the background. Almost immediately after she situated herself on the chair, she began reading the new history book she had bought with Chopper, eating a cake while she was at it.

Thanking the gods that she was one of the first to come in, Robin watched in amazement as the partiers devoured the food like wood mites would to a block of fresh, yummy wood, Luffy being the fastest of course. Robin smiled fondly at the familiarity and the sense of homeliness it brought to her before turning back to her book. Within a matter of seconds everything, down to the last chicken bone was gone, all into their hungry stomachs.

But all feasts were not complete without some sake right?

While Robin had been peacefully enjoying her book, the partiers had also one by one gotten themselves drunk. Some were now sprawled on a table, unconscious. Some had rushed into the toilets to regurgitate the food they had eaten during the feast. Some were even openly flirting with each other, something which was rarely ever seen with the Strawhats and the Franky family. Fortunately none of them had come close to Robin, except for Sanji. Though he had only stayed for a moment before he left to pester Nami, although from what she could tell, Nami seemed to be enjoying his attention rather than being annoyed at it.

But this delicate bubble of peace encasing Robin was broken when Franky had fallen victim to the sake. As Robin just reached the mid-point of the book, a discourteous Franky rudely interrupted her quiet reading. Dazedly, he swayed his way down onto the seat beside her, with a bottle of sake in his hand.

"We had a super day today, huh" he spluttered as he settled into the chair. His face was little red from a sake overdose.

"Yes we did," Robin replied, her eyes not leaving her book for even a second.

"Why don't you join in the fun?" Franky asked taking a swig off his sake.

"I'm don't like parties."

"That's too bad," Franky muttered, "he he, did you see me kicking the CP9s' asses?"

No in fact she had not. She was too busy being captured and having her own ass kicked to able to watch him. Even after she was freed she had her own share of marines to deal with, but she was curious to see how he would react to her next words. He probably would not remember anything she said anyway, seeing how intoxicated he was by the alcohol.

"Yes, you were quite gallant today," Robin commented with a smirk evident on her face.

"Aww, you flatter me," said Franky. His speech was starting to get a little slurred.

The last of the sake in the glass bottle went down his throat in just a few gulps as a lady dressed in yellow bikini top and pants walked past. She wore her hair in a strange square shaped afro and had a yellow pair of sunglasses perched on her abnormally long nose. On her hand she was holding cups of sake on a tray, offering them to whoever passed by her.

"Mozu," Franky called out to her, gesturing towards the goblets on her tray with his empty sake bottle. She made her way over then took hold of a cup as though she were about to hand it to him but promptly let go when she saw the state that Franky was in.

"Aniki, you shouldn't drink too much," she said noticing how inebriated he was, "even if you are half-machine it is still bad for your health."

Franky reached up and snatched a cup for himself straight out of her tray, "Says the person who used to drink a barrel a day," he said as he took a quaff of sake.

"Hey, that was in the past," she accused. Then hurrying off to attend to other drunkies, she said, "Well, enjoy the feast," with a wave goodbye.

"Wait!" Franky called out behind her, "Ms Bookworm here needs a glass too,"

Bookworm? Robin thought. How immature. The lady she assumed was Mozu, walked back towards them and placed a cup onto the table.

"Thank you," Robin said.

"No problem, have a nice night," she replied before hurrying back off again.

Robin took one glance at the cup before going back to reading her book, her index finger absentmindedly rubbing circles along the rim of the cup.

"What are you reading?" Franky asked. Robin could tell by his increased swaying, that he was significantly more drunk than before. Slowly, she shifted her body slightly further away from him, far enough that she would not be hit by his swaying body but close enough that Franky did not notice the change – which was hardly anything right now.

"The Revolutions of Ancient Hana," said Robin, turning a page.

"Revolutions? Really? You didn't seem like the type to be into history. It's so boring," Franky mused, taking another shot of sake.

"Then what type do I seem like?" asked Robin without a second's thought.

"Hmm. You seem like the mysterious, independent type who takes shit from no one. Like a character out of a spy movie and you'd be the lead female. Agent 1." said Franky as he downed the last of his sake in three huge gulps.

Ironically, for the last twenty or so years, that was exactly how she had been living her life, like an undercover agent.

"Aren't you going to drink that?" he asked staring intensely at her cup of sake which she had barely touched.

"No, go ahead," she replied as she pushed her cup towards him.

Nothing could have prepared her for what happened next.

Franky, being so extremely drunk, miscalculated the distance between the cup and his wavering hand. Instead of successfully grabbing a hold of the cup, he knocked it over with his monster-sized hands, spilling its contents straight onto Robin's brand new book. The alcohol soaked the straight through, smudging the words and staining the clean, white pages.

Outraged, Robin felt her jaw clenching, her hands forming into fists. Spinning around as quickly as a top, she prepared herself to give Franky a good beating but abruptly stopped when she saw what he was doing.

"AT LEAST BE AWAKE WHILE I BEAT YOU UP, FRANKY!" she screeched at the top of her lungs. Furious, she hit him on his head as hard as she can but only succeeded in hurting her hand against the metal plating of his head. Her hand throbbing, she pulled it back clutching it close to her chest. Franky did not stir in the slightest. His breathing was unbroken. He showed absolutely no signs of just being hit by the woman who had a bounty twice as large as his own since she was just a child.

"Robin…," she heard a whimper coming from her little reindeer nakama. Whipping her head around, she turned her glare onto Chopper.

"Gah!" he cried out in fear before jumping behind the reliable protection of Sanji's leg. Suddenly aware of all the pair of eyes watching her, reality sank back in as she vividly felt the silence her outburst had created. Feeling slightly self-conscious, she gently took hold of her alcohol soaked book then headed to the bathroom for tissues to clean off the stains.

And that was how she found herself here, glaring holes into Franky's back.

Deciding that she wanted some peace and quiet, she made her way outside the rowdy Franky House for some fresh air. Boring holes into Franky's back with her eyes would only get her so far and it certainly did no good in ridding her book of stains. The atmosphere in the room was also back to its usual merriment, rejoicing in the party as though nothing had happened. Nothing could ever be gloomy when Luffy was around after all.

Sighing, Robin made her way to the seaside, sitting down on one of the numerous rocks littered across the shore. Resting her head on her hand, her gaze settled on the sunset in the far horizon.

The scent of the sea, the feel of the cool water occasionally splashing against her face, the soft crash of the waves against the rocks. Robin relished in this overwhelming stimulation of her five senses. Everything she once thought she would lose was now all given back to her, all credit going to her nakama. Because of her terribly close brush with death, to Robin, everything was thrown into a new perspective.

Only now, did Robin realise exactly how wonderful and how precious life was. Only now, did she realise how blessed she was to able to live freely and unrestrained. Everything she saw, felt or heard now, she treated as though it was a treasure. Even pesky flies and mosquitoes had equal place in her heart as diamonds and gems.

For the next hour or so, Robin sat on the rock, enjoying the feeling of freedom once again. Her face took on a fond expression as she lost herself deep in her thoughts, thinking of how bright a future she would have now that she was safely back with her nakama. Just this morning, she had been completely sure that she was headed to her death but as the day progressed, her fate was completely turned front to back.

"Gee, what a day," Robin muttered to herself.

As the time passed, day slowly turned into night and the sunset disappeared behind the ocean. The blue sky faded away into a jet black colour as twinkling stars popped out one after another. Music was still emanating dimly from the Franky House signifying that their party was still on.

With sore muscles all over, Robin stiffly stood up to head back to the party. Barely taking even a step she suddenly stopped when she noticed the atmosphere changing drastically.

Robin hands clenched tightly on her drenched history book, when she felt an abrupt drop of temperature in the atmosphere. Rapidly, the warmth in the air was sucked out and replaced by an icy, eerie sensation. With a chill running up her spine, she supressed a shiver as she expanded her senses as far as she possibly can. In an attempt to find the source of this unnatural drop in temperature, she created extra pairs of eyes, ears and noses in inconspicuous areas around her.

Her extra eyes told her that there was a man in a marine's uniform standing in the large shadow of the Franky House. His face was concealed by the shadow and the night so Robin was not able to discern it properly. Though judging from the chilliness and the fact that there was no one else in the World Government who possessed this ability, Robin assumed that it was Aokiji.

Her suspicions were confirmed when the stray droplets of water from the splash of the waves smashed into the rocks as a solid – ice. Damn it, Robin thought. She had barely been back for day. There was no way in hell she was going to let herself be captured. She would rather die than leave her nakama again.

With her back still facing him, she crossed her arms in front of her chest as she prepared herself for a fight.

"I'm not here to fight," came a stony voice. Something about his tone just told her that he being completely honest and he really was not here to fight, just to talk. At this reassurance, Robin lowered her arms to her side.

"What do you want with me?" Robin replied, her voice equally as void of emotion.

There was a pause as an inaudible sigh left his mouth.

"You've found them now, haven't you," he asked, thinking back to the time he had killed his best mate, Saul, with his own two hands. Honestly, when he had heard of Robin's impending execution, he had felt compelled to ride his bike to Enies Lobby and smuggle her out like he did on Ohara when she was only a child. He may be a marine admiral but he did not want to let Saul's sacrifice go to waste.

"Yes," Robin replied without a moment's hesitation, "this is where I belong."

A soft smile made its way onto his face when he heard her words then remaining as perplexing and mysterious as ever he soru-ed away into the darkness. Robin continued back to the Franky House with a smile now evident on her face. She really was looking forward to adventuring with her nakama again.

* * *

"Make way! Coming through!" yelled Mozu as she rounded the corner, pushing and shoving past anyone who got in her way. Behind her followed a large, buff man who was after the dark blue underwear she was holding in her hand.

Robin spun around towards the source of the noise.

"Hey! It's Franky!" Luffy suddenly called as he jumped of their new ship, Thousand Sunny. Chopper, clearly excited, ran off close behind him.

"Geez… what's the big deal, causing all this commotion," Sanji scoffed despite the distinct smile on his face. "Ah, Nami-san, let me help you unpack that."

"Arigatou," Nami smiled in reply.

Zoro as usual was oblivious to this ruckus and was peacefully dozing off in corner of his own, his three katanas propped up beside him.

With a smile on her face, Robin watched as Luffy came running back laughing, holding a pair of underwear in his hands. Franky trailed close behind him cursing to himself as he tried to retrieve his precious clothing. Thanking her fast reflexes she had built over the years, Robin just barely moved out of her captain's way when he jumped enthusiastically onto the ship.

Coming to a stop beneath the magnificent ship he had built, Franky began to quarrel with Luffy. From their heated dispute, Robin could tell that Luffy seemed to be 'threatening' Franky to join their crew.

A mischievous grin grew on her face as a cunning idea suddenly popped into her head.

"May I try?" Robin asked sweetly.

"Uh…Ok," Luffy replied confused by her question.

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she summoned her devil fruit abilities, feeling that familiar tingle permeate throughout her arms. Smirking devilishly, she watched as two long and slim arms sprout out from Franky's legs. She still needed to get him back for ruining her book after all.

* * *

… Am I boring you?

I know that this chapter does not contain a lot of story and is mostly Post-Enies Lobby events but I promise that I would get to it in the next chapter. And I am extremely sorry for my inconsistency in the story line. This is my first fic so I may be a little inexperienced with writing. I have been recently given so much home work from school – assignment and other boring stuff - so I may be a little slow in updating. Sorry.

Anyway, I really hoped that you enjoyed this chapter and it would be nice if you left a review before you go. Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3: Sea King Hunting

A/N: Hey guys! I just did some research on the 'Thousand Sunny' and I found out that it had a library.

O.O

I never knew that…

And I also apologize for this really slow update. I had been occupied with school homework and projects and assignments and tests so I hardly had any time to work on this.

After this chapter I should probably change the summary as well…

Anyway. After a long wait…the story is finally updated. Yay! Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own one piece – Gol D. Roger does :). Just kidding… One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda.

* * *

"Oi Luffy!" shouted Ussop as he ran after the said person. Shoving a new invention into his pockets, he hurried towards Luffy. Despite the scowl on his face, he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself and being part of the crew once again. "Give my hammer back!" he yelled out.

"No!" came Luffy's adamant reply, laughing gleefully as he swung around on the riggings of the ship like a monkey. Boy did he miss teasing and playing around with Usopp. "You have to catch me first."

That is quite an impossible feat to accomplish considered the speed he was moving at, Robin observed from the balcony outside their new kitchen.

"Go Usopp!" encouraged Chopper sitting on the swings, waving his hooves around in the air.

Franky, spotting his chance rushed up onto the stairs beside the front mast to get a higher reach. Now within throwing distance of Luffy he put his hands up calling, "Over here! Over here!" then jumped high into the air to catch the flying hammer. The second his feet touched the floor, he broke out into a sprint, climbing up the stairs towards the girl's quarters with Usopp hot on his heels.

"Franky!" Usopp called out exasperated. Slowly he came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs trying to catch his breath, "wait!"

"You have to catch me first!" was Franky's teasing reply as he turned around and made a face at Usopp. So absorbed was he in his game of 'Don't Let Usopp Get His Hammer', that he did not notice Nami coming out of the door and almost crashing straight into him. Fortunately, with the practiced agility of someone who has done this several times before, she moved out of the way just before Franky toppled onto her bedroom door.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" scolded Nami as she clubbed him over his head. Ignoring his painful cry she delightfully yelled "Robin!" as she ran across the lawn to the balcony on the other side of the ship.

"Ohayo, Nami," Robin greeted coolly just as Nami came to a stop beside her, leaning against the railings with her arms resting on top.

"Ohayo," Nami responded. She turned her head to face her playful crewmates "Gee just look at them go. If I did not know any better, I would think the Franky had been with us since the beginning."

"Hmm," Robin mused quietly.

Nami shot her a sceptical look, "What is with the attitude?"

"What attitude?" Robin replied with the same irony tone she used before.

"That attitude," Nami playfully poked her arm as she spoke. Catching her friend's confused expression she specified, "Come on Robin. We've just gone through all that trouble just to get you back and you don't even seem happy."

"I don't?" questioned Robin.

"Not one bit," Nami confirmed, "remember the party. You were supposed to be the main girl and everything but you weren't even there for half the time,"

"If you are looking for someone to blame I suggest you start looking in front of you." Robin glared at Franky who was currently running about in circles around their lawn with Usopp chasing after him.

"Aaah. Looks like our crew has gained yet another idiot," Nami pondered, "You know, that was the first time I have ever seen you so angry. What did he do anyway?"

"He bathed my book in sake. You know the new book on Hana that I purchased while I was shopping with Chopper at Water 7."

Nami's eyes widened in shock as the reality of her words sunk in. Her face paled to a ghostly white as her body went stiff as a pole. It was an unspoken rule amongst the crew that nobody touches Robin's treasured history books, let alone tip a glass full of sake over it. She would have no objections with lending out her other books but letting someone else lay even a finger on her history books almost meant certain death.

Even their dense captain Luffy has learnt not to come near her books – all courtesy going towards her fists which have beaten anyone, who has come close to them, half-dead. The only exception was Chopper who somehow managed to charm Robin into letting him study her books if the need ever arose. Denying the young reindeer even the smallest thing was a mission that Robin found impossible to accomplish. The other was Nami, who was just about the only person in the crew, apart from Robin and Chopper, who knew how to respect a book.

"He…spilt sake on your book?" Nami gasped horrified.

"Every last drop," said Robin, emphasising each and every word. But before their conversation could progress any further, Sanji interrupted them, prancing his way over with a plate of ice cream sandwiches in each hand.

"Nami-swaan! Robin-chwaan!" he called out, "somewhere under the bright sun and sky, are two beautiful ladies waiting for me to serve. I shall not disappoint them…ah Nami-san, you look especially beautiful today. You too Robin-chan."

"Arigatou," Robin thanked as Sanji handed them their ice cream sandwiches whereas Nami just remained silent.

"Do you love me now, Nami-san?" Sanji asked like a small child vying for attention.

"Yes, yes," she responded sarcastically before digging into her food.

Crying out with joy, Sanji capered away before appearing moments later with a small table on one arm and two cushioned chairs on the other, holding them both as though they were weightless. Then with the speed of someone who has done this more often than he smokes, he set up the table and chairs under a tree, arranging them carefully so that both the chairs and their users would be situated comfortably under the shadow of the tree on the lawn.

"Please sit down," he said gesturing to the two seats. Robin had always thought that if Sanji had the right 'motivation', he may just become the best butler in the world.

Gracefully, they both descended the stairs towards their nicely set up coffee table and comfortable chairs, balancing their plates of ice cream sandwiches in their hands. Thanking Sanji, Robin took her seat first before Nami eased herself into the cushions on the seat beside her.

"Tch, Shitty Marimo just has to ruin today's exquisite scenery," muttered Sanji indignantly when he caught sight of Zoro dozing off with his back resting against the railings of the ship. Tensing his legs, he prepared himself to give Zoro a taste of what had given him his infamous nickname 'Black Leg' but before he could even touch him, he was stopped by Nami's scolding voice.

"Sanji," she said, feeling the waves of tangible hate rolling off him, "I know what you are thinking. Just leave him alone."

If it were anybody else, Sanji would have either completely ignored him or glower at him but this was not just anyone. Grumbling slightly, Sanji uttered a soft agreement before he reluctantly walked away, back towards the haven of his kitchen.

"Now where were we? Ah yes, Franky was spilling sake onto your book," Nami recalled barely supressing a shiver, "and if I remember correctly he was passed out when you were beating him up and even after you did, he barely moved. At All. Whoever would have known that the notorious Nico Robin is so weak?"

"Ooh, would you like to try?" Robin challenged, when she heard her friend's teasing laughs. Leisurely, she took bite from her ice cream sandwich while listening with half an ear to Nami's mostly one sided conversation, inserting the appropriate words now and then.

Nami, Robin found, was actually very amiable and quite a charming and good-natured woman. Truthfully, when she had met Nami for the first time, Robin thought of her as a manipulative, deceitful creature who – except for her money – only cared for her own wellbeing. But as the saying goes, first impressions can be misleading.

Being the only other female aboard the ship, Nami was the first to have approached her and made the effort to know her better. It was nice to have a fellow woman to talk to instead of dense idiots, flirtatious cooks and cotton candy lovers after all, even if this woman was once the vice-president of their enemy's criminal organisation.

"- and then I found huge barrels of Cola in our cool room," Nami continued, demonstrating with her hands exactly how big those barrels were. She was quite perplexed as to why they had soft drinks stored away in their kitchen. "Did Zoro swap to soft drinks or something? Not that it is any healthier than alcohol."

"Actually, that would be Franky," corrected Robin, just as a strong gust of wind blew across the ship. Pushing her billowing hair behind her ears she continued, "He uses Col-"

Promptly she was cut off when the hammer Usopp had been so desperately chasing after, whizzed past her head as fast as a bullet, brushing against her stray strands of hair. Her body froze and her muscles tensed uncomfortably tight as she felt the slight breeze of the zooming hammer touching her cheeks. If the gust of wind had not blown it off course, she would be on the ground on top of a growing pool of blood. Dead.

An unpleasant rush of adrenaline coursed throughout her body as her breath caught in the base of her throat. Her senses heightened and her heart sped up, pumping energy into her muscles, ready her body's natural instinct of flight.

With the deafening beat of her heart pounding in her ears, she spun her head around towards the direction the hammer had come from, intending to catch the culprit. Her eyes narrowed. Franky. And what was that on his face? Robin observed the obvious guilt and fear flashing across his eyes but another emotion also crossed his eyes for a fraction of second before it was carefully concealed again. Perhaps to others it would pass unnoticed but to Robin's trained eye it was as clear as daylight. Disappointment.

Piecing the puzzle together, Robin realized that the fact that the hammer had almost killed her was no accident. In fact Franky had fully aware of what his actions may have resulted in. He had _intended_ to hit her. If that gust of wind had come even a fraction of a second later, Robin would most certainly be dead as a mummy.

The metallic sound of Zoro's arm shooting up to catching the zooming hammer, broke the tension in her body. Wasn't Zoro asleep? Robin pondered to herself but only for a fleeting moment as she had more pressing matters to attend to right now.

"Franky! You almost hit Robin!" exclaimed Chopper after he took hold of the hammer Zoro threw towards him. Almost instantly afterwards, Zoro's head fell limp once more signalling that he was asleep.

"Oh! Sorry! I'm really, really sorry," Franky apologized. His hand came up to scratch the back of his head as his face took on a sheepish smile. "I guess I lost my footing for a moment there. Sorry."

Robin's face contorted into a faint sneer. Should one have the ability to inspect her mind, he or she would not be able to find even the slightest sliver of doubt that she thought the bastard attempting to apologize to her was lying. In fact, they would find anger and hatred simmering nicely in a blood red cauldron, readying itself to poison the man who had almost killed her.

Closing her eyes and relaxing her face, Robin reigned in her emotions. The unnoticeable sneer on her face disappeared and was replaced by a facsimile of a smile.

"I fine Franky. I'm sure it was just an accident," Robin reassured and to reinforce her statement, she gave Franky a bright smile to show that she was really ok. Later, Robin thought to herself, I would confront him about this later. Her nakama were frolicking so joyfully about the ship and it was such a rare bright and sunny day. Robin just did not have the heart to ruin this hard earned moment with something that could be left for later.

Pretending as though nothing had happened, Robin turned back to resume her conversation with Nami.

* * *

Dammit, Franky swore to himself, if that gust of wind had not gotten in the way, his goal would have been accomplished. His aiming had been perfect. He had made sure that everyone's eyes were on him. He had also prepared himself for the aftermath of his actions. He had calculated for everything and had replayed this scene again and again in his mind to assure that this procedure would be carried out flawlessly. Everything except that damn draft of wind which had blown the hammer off course.

Perhaps the idea of using a hammer to obtain his objective, may be a little immature and under planned – ok, _very_ immature and under planned but it was the best he could think of.

Suddenly his eye twitched slightly at a new, soft stinging pressure inside his left forearm.

A new message.

Turning away from Robin, he left the deck of the Thousand Sunny and headed back towards his private workshop to read it away from prying eyes.

"Franky, you're not gonna play anymore?" Luffy suddenly called out, still swinging around on the riggings of the ship. Thank goodness he had these doorknobs made with a high quality brass instead of wood, thought Franky as he was opening the door to his workshop, otherwise he may have crushed it to pieces in surprise.

Franky turned towards Luffy, rapidly wiping off his stony, rigid expression replacing it with a smile. "Nah, I need to work on my new project."

"Oooh! Can I see?" Luffy requested, stopping his swinging and dropping onto the deck, clearly excited.

"No! You have to wait until its grand opening," replied Franky with a sly smile on his face.

"Aw…Hey Usopp! Let's go see if Sanji made anything yummy!" Luffy exclaimed before running off towards the kitchen.

A rather quick change of subject, mused Franky. He entered the energy room, taking extra caution that the door was closed safely behind him. Feeling the stinging pressure in his forearm throbbing slightly, he quickly descended the stairs to his workshop. The moment his feet touched the metal floor, he took a quick glance around the room to see if there was any possibility that he would be overheard, scanning the room for any open windows and assuring that there was no one else in his workshop.

Finally deeming it safe and secure, he tended to the slight pain in his left arm. Lifting it up in front of him as though he were checking the time on a watch, he opened a small hatch embedded into his mid-forearm by pushing down on it using his other hand. What had seemed like a regular, seamless fold of skin, abruptly flipped open with a gentle _click_. Slowly the pressure in his forearm began to ebb.

Behind the hatch, in clear, bold letters was indeed a message waiting for him.

_Franky_, it read, _you have five days left until the due date. I trust that you have at least devised a plan to accomplish this mission._

Five days!? Franky almost screeched out loud. He only had another five days left!?

Had it really been more than a week ago that he was asked – threatened – to take this mission? Five days was hardly any time for Franky to plan and carry out this mission. This is Nico Robin we are talking about! The one who virtually manipulated and single-handedly destroyed several criminal organisations which posed a threat to the world government, always coming out without a scratch on her body. And that was when she was only a small child of eight!

Anxiety began to build up inside him as his mind whirred, automatically conjuring different methods and possibilities he could use to achieve his goal. Slumping down on a chair, his hand came up, brushing through his cyan-coloured hair so harshly that he was almost tearing large clumps off by the handful.

In a frail attempt to take his mind off this pressing subject, he found himself some scrap planks of wood and box of nails and began hammering them together with no set objective in mind but distraction.

Franky's favourite pastime had been creating masterpieces out of scrap. After long, exhausting days and nights of endless hammering, chiselling and whatnot, he would feel too tired to lift even a finger. He used to just lie beside his end creation and fall into a deep sleep right there on the mud, dirt or whatever was there at the time. After that, baka-burg, Tom or Kokoro would come and wake him up then give him a nice, long lecture which he would listen to with only half an ear.

Sure it was a very strenuous hobby but the pride and the euphoria he felt welling up inside him every time he finished building a ship, a cottage, a tree house or a new Battle Franky, would make it all worth the blood and sweat.

It also came into handy whenever Franky needed a distraction, especially after the execution of his beloved mentor, Tom. After building each creation, Franky would have been so spent that his mind would not be able to even form coherent thoughts. It had provided the perfect distraction for Franky whenever his mind drifted off in the direction of his master – which was quite often.

Suddenly Franky was broken out of his thoughts when he heard a loud _crunch_ under his hammer. Glancing down, Franky noticed the two planks of wood, crack in the centre, splintering under the pressure of his persistent hammering. A heavy sigh left his mouth. I really need to get myself a life, Franky thought to himself.

"Oi guys! We are out of sea king meat! Who wants to go out and catch some?" Sanji abruptly called out from the deck above him.

That's it! Franky thought, what better way to distract yourself than to go sea king fishing.

Mentally praising himself for coming up with such a fantastic idea, Franky ditched his unsuccessful handiwork and rushed upstairs ready to offer himself for the job. Coming to a screeching stop on the deck, he delightfully called out "I'll go-!" but stopped when he realized that Luffy had already beaten him to it.

Luckily though, Sanji had other plans for Luffy. "Luffy!" Sanji scolded hitting him across the head, "You still have to finish cleaning the dishes!"

"Aw…but I wanna go sea king hunting as well," whined Luffy.

"You can go after you finish," Sanji verified.

As soon as Sanji ended his statement, Luffy zoomed away to finish his chore.

"Franky, you can go," Sanji continued, "but you have to take someone with you." One of the few rules among the Strawhats is that if you leave the ship at any time on the sea, you must always bring someone with you in case an unexpected tsunami or a volcanic eruption or a whirlpool randomly appears and either kills or isolates him or her. With two people, they could rely on each other, look out for each other and significantly raise their chances of survival, not that any of Strawhat crew members are weak. In fact even the weakest of them possess an insane, monster strength but having been through many of the dangers of the Grand Line, one could never become too cautious. Two monsters are always better than one after all.

"I'll go with him," Robin abruptly stated, setting her book down and standing up from her chair.

Great, just the person I wanted to see, Franky thought sarcastically. He almost wanted to drop to the ground and start throwing a tantrum right then and there like a little boy who was refused the latest version of a Hot Wheels toy car. But he was much to mature for that so all that showed on his face was a somewhat downwards curve of his eyebrow – and a soft smirk when he mentally praised himself for keeping his emotions in check.

How did this day turn out so bad? It was such a fine and sunny, sea monster-free day. Today was supposed to a happy day full of merriness and feasts but nooooo. Fate just had to turn his back on him and force him to fail his attempt on completing his mission and after several exhausting, back breaking _seconds_ of careful planning too! On top of that, He just had to throw in the very person he wanted to avoid, and spend an entire sea king hunting trip together.

However, regardless of who or what accompanied him, Franky has never ever passed up an offer to go sea king fishing. This particular activity was just too exhilarating and exciting to pass up, even though most of the sea creatures they catch turn out to be just regular sea monsters. Sea Kings were quite a rare catch after all.

"Fine…" Franky muttered before readying the Mini-merry II for sailing.

Franky heart twinged with guilt as he recalled the delight his new 'nakama' had shown when he first presented this little boat to them. He wanted to be a part of this idiotic and trouble-causing yet loving and affectionate crew so badly that the thought of having to betray them killed him and his mechanical heart. However, he knew that it was something which must be done. If not for him then for those dear to him waiting in his hometown, completely oblivious to the heavy burden which their aniki had taken upon himself – for them.

The Adam-wood floor boards rumbled ever so slightly as the docks beneath rotated until the Mini-merry compartment was facing the sea. Slowly, the dock opened and the small boat crawled out from underneath. Jumping off the helm, Franky made his way onto the Mini-merry II, taking a bucket of old and rotten sea monster meat which he and Robin would use as bait for their 'fishing' trip.

After having gone sea king fishing multiple times in the past few weeks he had been with the Strawhats, Franky had fully grasped the concept of 'cannibalism'. Every time he went on a hunting trip, the sea monsters have never failed to surprise him with their cannibalistic ways. Whenever an unsuspecting sea monster jumps up out of the apparently still waters, there is almost always another larger sea monster that gobbles them up until only the largest and the strongest are left standing.

That is why yummy, old and rotten sea monster meat was such a delicacy for the monsters of the sea. With the scent of the blood from the meat on their sensitive noses, sea monsters would come swarming into a large, writhing mob with the meat as an epicentre.

Glancing back up towards the deck of the 'Thousand Sunny', Franky saw Robin making her way down onto the boat with the help of her numerous, slender though malicious hands – Franky could never forget the pain he felt when he was 'forced' into joining the crew by those very same, innocent looking hands. Elegantly, she lowered herself off the last pair of arms and onto the Mini-merry II, absorbing the shock with her long, slender legs.

What had caught Franky's eye at that moment though was not her breath-takingly beautiful way her hair blew in the wind and certainly _not_ the set of legs which could earn her a successful career in supermodeling, but it was the expression on her face whenever her eyes met his. Was it hate? Anger? Accusation perhaps? And why did she seem to be casting bloody death upon him?

Geez, Franky thought to himself, why must this woman be so hard to decipher.

After he had finished ogling her legs – l mean after he had given up on trying to work out what her perplexing expression meant, he took a hold of the oars then began rowing out to sea, away from the Thousand Sunny.

The short trip was spent in silence.

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the two of them just wanted to enjoy the day's fine weather. Perhaps it had something to do with Robin staring out at the horizon with her back facing him.

Or perhaps it could just be that Robin was radiating don't-touch-me-or-die vibes in Aqua Laguna-sized waves.

As Robin's backed was turned to him, Franky had no idea what sort of expression was painted across her face though he can tell that she was either _very_ annoyed or _very_ angry at him. Ever since from before she had boarded the Mini-merry II, Franky noticed, she had that same negative aura around her which seemed to be directed specifically towards him.

But why?

Racking his dim brain for anything which may have troubled her during the morning Franky could find no solution…except maybe-

The gears in his head came to a stop when he reached a possible conclusion, a surprised gasp leaving his mouth.

Could it be the hammer that he threw at her this morning? Was that why she was in such a dark mood?

No it can't be, Franky almost said out loud trying to reassure himself, she thought it was an accident. Franky forcefully relaxed his body and concentrated on rowing the Mini-merry II, back and forth, back and forth, attempting to keep his mind off a small niggling suspicion which was eating away at him.

But what if she knew I was meant to throw the hammer at her?

What if she knew about my mission? About my agreement with the World Government?

_No!_ That is impossible. The only ones who know of his mission are Franky himself and the ones who briefed him on his mission, the World Government. Unless the World Government had told someone, which is highly unlikely, no one else knows of this mission. Franky had not told anyone either so if Robin is not acting like this because of the hammer, then why is she so pissed?

Feeling his brain overheating from too much thinking and also being more than willing to cooperate in fear of having his balls clipped off again, Franky decided to drop the subject and instead focus on rowing the Mini-merry II.

Troublesome women, he thought to himself.

It was not until the Thousand Sunny was reduced to a small dot, the size of a thumbnail, in the horizon that Franky stopped rowing.

Robin turned her head around and gave him an unnerving smile, "Shall we start?"

Quite startled by her contrasting moods, Franky remained silent as he was at a loss of words to say. Taking a strong hold of the bucket of rotten meat and closing his sense of smell against the stench of rotten meat masked with ladies' perfume, he threw the meat overboard, spreading them over a wide area. After making sure that every last drop of blood entered the water, he sat back down waiting for the sea creatures beneath to take the bait.

Within a matter of seconds, the sea began to gurgle as the first sea monsters came swimming up, fighting over the meat and surrounding the small boat with a barricade of writhing bodies.

* * *

Pulling her eyes away from the lively, though murderous, mass of jumping sea monsters in the distance, the last of her ice cream sandwich disappeared into her stomach. That ice cream sandwich had been so delicious, she was extremely tempted to lick the creamy remnants of it right off her plate. But she was much too _mature_ and _lady-like_ to do something like that and instead, settled for licking off the rest of the sauce on her fork.

Standing up from her chair, she gathered her dirty dishes and cutlery, including Robin's unfinished ice cream sandwich. What a waste, Nami thought privately to herself. Giving subtle stares at the unfinished ice cream sandwich, she headed towards the kitchen, her mouth still watering all the way there. Perhaps in privacy she can 'clean' her plate to her heart's content.

Closing the festooned wooden door behind her after she entered the kitchen, she raised the plate to her lips readying herself to taste more of that delicious…delectable…scrumptious cream…almost there…

Spotting Sanji in the corner of her eye, sharping his chef knives, she suddenly stopped herself. Damn you Sanji.

"Ohayo Nami-san! Did you enjoy your snack?" asked Sanji looking up from his knives.

"They were fine," Nami replied grumbling slightly. Maybe she can get Sanji to make more of that tasty ice cream.

Walking over to the sink, she reluctantly brushed Robin's ice cream sandwich into the bin then dropped the dishes and cutlery into the sink with a soft clunk. There goes my snack, Nami thought to herself.

Reaching out for a spare cloth on the bench top to clean her dirty dishes, her fingers accidentally brushed against Sanji's when he also reached for the cloth to polish his knives. Her fingers began to burn slightly as she felt her cheeks warming despite her objections.

Damn it, Nami berated herself, stop blushing!

"Gomen Nami-san, you can have it," offered Sanji holding the cloth out to her.

Thanking him, Nami took a hold of the cloth, rinsed it then turned to scrub the dishes.

"Nami-san!" Sanji suddenly cried out, "Don't dirty your soft and elegant hands by washing these unruly dishes! I will help you wash them. Go outside and enjoy this sunny day which is almost as lovely as you."

Feeling her cheeks reacting to Sanji's compliments, Nami immediately dropped the cloth into the sink muttering a soft, "OK, go ahead."

"Are you still hungry? I can whip up a sundae if you want," said Sanji as he began to clean the dishes.

"No thank you…Actually, make me another ice cream sandwich please. I'll be waiting outside." Nami made her way back out onto the deck of the ship, leaving a terribly happy Sanji behind who was squealing with joy.

Stopping by the railings outside the kitchen she rested her body against it and looked down upon the grassy deck of the ship beneath her. Watching over her nakama playing around, she instinctively made a quick check of the weather to make sure that nothing was out of place.

Satisfied with her report, she left for the back of the ship intending to hone her combat skills and try out some new clima-tact techniques and theories.

Ever since they had left Enies Lobby, she has been training from day till night, almost _every_ single day. In fact, Luffy had made a habit of teasing her about becoming a Zoro #2.

That fateful day her and her nakama had broken into the largest government courthouse, Enies Lobby, her lacking strength had been thrown into sharp perception through the worst possible way. That day she had barely escaped with her life! After her gruelling battle with the CP9, Kalifa, she had just managed to crawl her way onto the Going Merry, bloody and battle-worn, and that was after Sanji had weakened Kalifa as well! Perhaps not greatly but still weakened nonetheless.

Pulling out her Perfect Clima-tact from the straps on her thigh, she began to create capsules of heat and cold, testing out a new theory she had been trying to perfect for quite a while. Above her, a small wisp of cloud began to form but today she was not trying to create thunderclouds and zapping Luffy with her creations. Today she was trying to use her Clima-tact's powers to hide her body.

Setting up the surrounding 'weather' to where her previous training sessions had left off, she glanced at one of the kitchen windows in front of her. Her reflection showed her body as short and fat with hazy edges and bent features – in fact she looked a little like a frog.

"Tch," She was still far from completing this technique.

As the minutes ticked by slowly melding into hours, she felt her mind beginning to tire from an overdose of calculations, ratio balancing and whatnot. The second ice cream sandwich had certainly powered her up a little though, and now her reflection looked more like that of a Cheshire cat, disappearing and reappearing again.

But it was not until she spotted the crazy fighting of the sea monsters in the distance dying down, that she noticed the sudden drop in the air pressure.

Shit.

With her mind automatically setting itself into panic mode, she quickly strapped the segments of her Perfect Clima-tact on to the holder against her thigh and ran towards the lawn of their ship barking out orders along the way. "Luffy, hoist up the sails! Usopp, Sanji! Lock the doors! Secure everything that would move using the ropes in Usopp's workshop! Chopper! Ring the emergency bell as hard as you can! You must let Franky and Robin hear it! AND FOR GODS SAKE ZORO WAKE UP AND HELP!"

Everyone immediately sprang into action, knowing that something was about to hit them.

"What's wrong Nami?" asked Chopper. His voice was laced with panic.

"There is a huge storm coming and it's the largest we have ever come across! Quickly ring the bell, now!" Nami's forecasting skills always had been one hundred percent accurate and has never failed them before. If she said a storm is coming, then a storm is definitely going to come.

Leaping off the balcony and onto the grass beneath, she rushed off to help Usopp and Sanji secure the stray objects on the ship.

The sea was already beginning to churn with its waves rising higher and higher, becoming more and more ferocious by the second, sweeping the 'Thousand Sunny' along with it. The floor boards beneath her were emitting soft creaks under the pressure of the treacherous waves.

Grabbing hold of the edge of the ship to catch her balance, she quickly ran towards the girl's quarters on the other side of the deck, snatching a bundle of ropes from Usopp when he offered them to her. Crying out in surprise, she stopped when the ship suddenly toppled towards the side, swaying dangerously close to capsizing.

Crap! At the rate the storm was progressing, Franky and Robin are not going to make it back to the ship in time. Cursing to herself, she yelled out at the top of her lungs, "Luffy! Can you reach Franky and Robin from here?"

Stopping in the middle of tying knots on the main sail, Luffy glanced up towards the tiny spot of sea monsters in the distance. Shouting over the loud splash of the waves he replied, "No, they're too far away!"

An ear-piercing thunder slap suddenly sounded above her. Tilting her head towards the sky, she saw the black, storm clouds swarming together, swelling up as though it were a balloon being inflated by a leaf blower.

The loud ring of their ship's danger bell began to sound as well, with a volume which rivalled the deafening cracks above.

Looking back out towards the Mini-merry II which seemed to be trying its hardest to row back towards its home, sea monsters and all, long forgotten, one thought rang throughout her mind as the floor beneath her swayed again.

Please let Franky and Robin make it back safely.

* * *

"Franky, use your Coup de Vent to rocket us back!" Robin yelled at the man while trying to steady the boat and row them back at the same time. Any 'confrontation' she had wanted to have with Franky was long forgotten. So were the sea monsters they had spent hours trying to catch. Everything they had was focused on getting them back to the ship.

"I can't! I'm out of fuel! And it would break the boat as well!" Franky yelled back, rowing the boat using his large hands as oars.

Heaving with all her might on one of the oars, she narrowly dodged one of the waves which would have crushed them and their boat if she had been a millisecond too late. A look of panic suddenly crossed her face as the boat suddenly tilted towards the side, almost tossing them off. Fortunately, Robin's shot out towards the side of the boat and gave it a knuckle-whitening grip, managing to keep on the boat.

Not long after, though, another large wave came crashing down missing the boat by a hair's width. Water splashed onto the boat, filling it with sea water, drenching Franky and Robin along the way as well.

Robin began to shiver violently under the chilling temperature and the cold winds, causing her to lose a little control over the oars but right now she had more worrying matters on hand.

Because of the large splash filling the boat with sea water, Robin felt herself weakening quickly, losing even more control on the oars. The Mini-merry II was also beginning to sink slowly, giving into the weight of the sea water upon its back.

"Franky!" she yelled out again, "Scoop out the water! I have to keep rowing!"

Franky obliged, using his large hands to scoop the sea water off the Mini-merry II and slowly the boat, began to rise again.

Thrusting the oars into Franky's hands, an idea suddenly popped into her head.

"Am I supposed to row the boat!?" Franky asked confused.

Quickly answering his question with a yes, Robin crossed her arms in front of her, summoning her devil fruit abilities. Two arms suddenly sprouted at the back of the boat, causing Robin to wince in pain at the opposing sea water. Her arms felt as though they were being compressed and squeezed with needles being thrust into her arms.

Furrowing her brows together in concentration, she angled her extra pair of hands then began to spin her extra arms around at its base, creating a make-shift propeller. As expected, the boat began to move a lot faster and the Thousand Sunny was approaching much quicker than before. Thanks to her pair of propelling arms, they were now sailing smoothly, dodging the waves as each of them crashed down against the water behind them.

Things were beginning to turn for the better.

The loud ringing of the danger bell aboard the Thousand Sunny was increasing in volume with every second that passed and the thunder above them was also sounding less frequently. Though still ferocious, the waves beneath them also seemed to have reached a peaked and would soon die down.

Carelessly believing that she was now safe, Robin let her guard down, completely unaware of the colossal wave that was about to hit them.

With a deafening crash, the wave descended upon them, capsizing the boat throwing both Robin and Franky into the fierce sea below.

The last thing Robin remembered seeing was the blue of another massive wave about to crash onto a capsized Mini-merry II as she sank into the depths of the sea.

The last thing Robin remembered doing was weakly thrashing her arms around in the water, trying to swim back up to safety until she could do no more.

The last thing Robin remembered feeling was the feel of an abnormally large arm, wrapping itself around her waist, trying to pull her up to safety.

The last thing Robin remembered thinking was how safe she felt in those arms, how she could trust in them to keep unharmed despite the stinging sea water all around her body.

The rest was lost as she was engulfed by a black void, falling into unconsciousness.

* * *

A/N: Whoot! Finished finally. That took longer than I expected.

All my end of the year exams are finishing up as well so I could update faster on my other chapters than I did with this one. This one was really…slow. -_-

So…just a little preview of the next chapter, Franky and Robin are going to end up separated from the crew...oooh, I wonder what they are going to do? Any suggestions out there? And we also find out more about Franky's little mission.

Which brings me to this. Perhaps you are little confused as to what Franky's so called 'mission' is – my friend was when she read this – but it would all be revealed as the story progresses. So sit tight and wait for the next update.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and do leave a review before you go!


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